Son of the Overworld
by Shooting Star Sky Saint
Summary: Tom went missing when looking in a new territory with Kaz, Sarah, and Peyton. They don't know if he's alive or dead until recent intel gives them new hope. Kaz finds Tom but he's... different... Kaz/Tom yaoi.


**This is an old story I never finished until now. Kind of wished this happened in the series... yaoi warning. Apparently I wrote this before I realized how much I hate Kaz as a character... I love Tom though!**

* * *

Kaz nearly dropped his smoothie once Peyton had finished yelling his urgent news. At first, the underworld player thought that Peyton was about to tell them about some new mugic or creature or about a new topping of the pizzas. But no, Kaz was wrong, and for once, he was glad he was.

"Are you sure, Peyton?" Sarah exclaimed, standing from her seat.

"As sure as I can be!" Peyton shouted.

"The last time you said this we ended up nearly drowning in quicksand…" Sarah doubted, her face turning dark.

"I swear on my most powerful creature that I'm not lying! This time the source was clean and reliable!" Peyton approached the table and slammed his hands on it, rattling the drinks that lie on it.

"Tom was spotted at Maxxor's castle!"

Kaz blinked and scoffed. A bitter small grin spread across his face and bluntly he said, "We checked Maxxor's castle hundreds of times. What makes you think he'll be there?" And not contact us.

"I – I don't know…" Peyton admitted. "But I can feel it in my gut! Tom's definetly there! I'm sure of it!"

After a minute or two, the three chaotic players thought to themselves and let silence fill in their spots. Kaz sighed and mentally cursed himself. He was certain that Tom wasn't at Maxxor's castle – no, he was beyond certain. He was positive that Tom wasn't there. Though, he admitted to himself, it would be better to see Tom there rather than nowhere at all. Or maybe he wasn't anywhere… maybe Tom was really…

Kaz hitched a breath, he didn't want to think about that! That was the last option Kaz ever wanted to think of… though, the memory of when he last saw his best friend was still fresh in his mind.

Last month, all four of the chaotic players went on a scanning quest that, as Peyton had said, would lead to some kind of "super spectacular totally indestructible" armor – as Peyton had explained it. Of course, this meant they had to go to a new location called Gravity Prism. The location was surrounded with crystals but mountains surrounded the crystals, and overall, it was a giant maze. Kaz had complained about leaving because they would be there forever looking for some kind of armor that probably didn't exist, but Tom – foolishly, brave Tom – urged them to keep going.

And soon their demise had come.

Kaz didn't understand why the mountains above them began to crumble, he didn't understand why Tom had pushed him out of the way of the avalanche and trapped himself instead, and he didn't understand why Tom wasn't next to him, Peyton, and Sarah when they had ported back to Chaotic. But most importantly, he didn't understand why he didn't look back to see if Tom actually had his scanner in his hand…

If only he had looked back, just to see if Tom had accidentally dropped his scanner. If only… but he didn't. Tom had saved him and Kaz didn't look back to see if he was going to port out.

And after that, Kaz never saw Tom again. And now… one entire month has passed since that cruel moment.

"It wouldn't hurt to look again." Kaz snapped out of his thoughts. "It's not like we have any leads right now anyways…" Sarah mumbled.

Peyton smiled. "Alright! Let's go!"

"No."

Sarah and Peyton looked back at the spiky-haired teen. "No?"

"No. I'm not going. He's not there and the both of you know it."

"Well, it's worth a try to look," Peyton huffed.

"But he's not there."

"How do you know?"

Kaz ground his teeth together and stood up from his chair so fast that it fell over. "Because I've been there countless times! Even without you two! I've searched every place in Perim from top to bottom and no matter where I look…" His heart skipped a beat and Kaz lowered his voice. "He's not there."

Cautiously, Sarah approached the teen and put her hand on his shoulder. "Kaz, we're all worried about Tom, but if we're going to find him we have to check every place… even the ones we've been to countless times…"

Thinking this over, Kaz sighed and rubbed his temples. He shut his eyes, stood up, then opened them again, a woeful imbalance shining behind his reflecting glasses.

"Fine. Let's go."

Peyton and Sarah both smiled broadly, despite knowing that the odds were played against them. The three players immediately ported out of Chaotic, completely unaware of the two pair of eyes that caught them in their act.

Sarah, Peyton, and Kaz had arrived in the exact halls of Maxxor's Castle. They looked around the area for a few seconds then realized they were standing in the open. Quickly running to a side wall, the teens looked in every direction and sighed.

"Okay… where to start?" Kaz asked.

"Um, we'll split up," Peyton suggested, "I'll take this way. Sarah, you take that way, and Kaz you take… whatever way is left! If any of us see anything suspicious, we'll call each on our scanners!" immediately, the big-boned teen ran off, leaving Sarah and Kaz in a confused – and frustrated – daze.

"So, I guess all be off then…" Sarah mumbled. She turned to Kaz and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll find him." She smiled at him even when he didn't and walked off, sneakily avoiding any guards that came by.

Kaz sighed and looked down at his scanner then at the giant hallways, then back to his scanner. The teen's frown deepened with every breath he took. He still couldn't get the single question out of his mind; why didn't he look back to see if Tom had his scanner in his hand. Why? Why? Why?

Kaz began to walk small steps along the great halls, reminscencing over the past while keeping a look out for guards. The underworld player found it harder and harder to focus even with the awaiting danger around him, but he couldn't help it. His friend – his best friend – had gone missing for a month and everyday for every second of every day, Kaz had repeated that question to himself. What if? If only? Why didn't? it all came out differently but eventually it led to the same roots…

Turning the corner, Kaz looked in every direction then proceeded on. He walked on for a couple of minutes, passing up multiple study and bedrooms along the way, but stopped dead in his tracks when he heard a deep grunt not too far way from him. Kaz immediately but slowly began to panic. He was out in the open and there was no place to hide. His eyes scanned around him but eventually, he found that it was too late. A shadow appeared first that became longer with whoever was approaching – rather quickly, might he add.

Kaz pressed himself against the wall, hoping that whoever was coming didn't pay any attention to him. Sweat peeked down his forehead as the small figure of a green headed creature came running past him. And seeming to be a sort of panic mode that Kaz had never seen before.

"Oh dear, where is that boy?" Stammered Bodem, "Maxxor will have my head if I don't find him."

Him? Kaz noticed while feeling his heart skip a beat. Once the creature had run off, Kaz came out of the shadows and almost unknowingly started to run. Something urged him to keep going and he didn't know what it was, but at the moment, he didn't care. All Kaz knew was that something was off about this place all of a sudden, and he knew that if something was off, topsy turvey, or backed up, then that meant only one thing.

Tom had made his mark, and was truly, absolutely here.

Looking into every room he passed, Kaz panted as he opened a new door and felt the blood in his veins start to freeze. His eyes widened as he stared at the male figure in what looked to be a study room.

Kaz watched as the figure kicked and punched at an imaginary foe but stopped. Noticing the teen, the figure stared back. Kaz nearly felt his heart galloping and thrashing in his ribcage as he tried not to tremble or fall to his knees. Relief with a mixture of serene happiness filled his veins and coursed smoothly through his body, almost causing the teen to faint. The figure before him watched and stared for a minute then took a cautious step forward, observing the smile that rose on the spiky-haired teen's face.

He took another step then another until he was only a feet away from the teenager, then, with a raspy yet clear voice the figure spoke.

"Kaz?"

The underworlder acted upon his name. His arms wrapping tightly around his long lost friend and held him, afraid to let go and wake up as if all this was a dream. Steadily, Tom shifted and blinked, but before he could stop himself, he found his own arms wrapped around his friend and his body leaning into the embrace. The two of them stayed like that for a while and didn't let go of each other. They couldn't let go anymore because they didn't want to, but slowly – and ever so painfully – the two teenagers released each other and took a step back.

"Kaz," The black-haired teen asked. Kaz took notice to how deep Tom's voice was. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Kaz nearly yelled, holding back tears that perched in the corner of his eyes.

Kaz took in a shaky breath and nearly gasped. He didn't notice Tom's appearance up until now. He didn't notice the strange purple markings that coiled around his friend's shirtless chest, arms, and face. His usually black hair was tinted stark white at the ends and now grew down to his shoulders, ending in wild spikes that defied gravity. He was taller and more muscular, sporting heavily dense muscles that strangely enough didn't alter his appearance of being a teenager.

The only thing that didn't seem to change was Tom's eyes. Those blue, blue orbs of crystal tinted oceans remained as wonderous as ever before. A fire burned in his eyes like they always did but a seemingly childish innocence kindled the flames from spreading too far.

Tom wasn't wearing a shirt but instead of pants, Tom sported a pair of black robe-like garments that covered his legs and left his feet bare. Kaz looked closer at Tom and noticed even stranger changes. His ears were pointed and the purple marks on his face seemed so familiar that it bothered Kaz to no end.

"Well, are you going to say something or am I going to have to do all the talking?" Tom smirked, Kaz shivered at the pair of fangs that happily revealed themselves.

"Well… you should do the talking…" Kaz cautiously said. "More like explaining. What happened to you back there, Tom? Back at Gravity Prism and the avanlanche and… " Kaz felt his eyes sting. His face heated up as he recalled the memory of his seemingly dead friend. He was alive. Thank the gods but he was safe and healthy… and…

"Why didn't you call us!" Kaz snapped, anger rising in his chest. "We were worried! Me, Peyton, and Sarah! We spent a whole month looking for you! We – I thought you were dead!" Kaz felt a silky residue slide down his cheeks. Oh gods – he was crying… in front of his best friend whom he thought was dead… he was crying in front of his best friend who was alive and well… alive and…

Tom sighed, frowning as he wrapped his arms around his friend. Kaz leaned into Tom's warm chest and cried softly, Tom burying his face in Kaz's wild hair thinking about how much of an idiot he was.

Truly – surely enough he was the biggest idiot in the universe and the worst friend in all of existence. There he was cracking a joke, thinking that Kaz would reply with his usual snappy remarks, as if Tom hadn't been "missing" for a month and simply worried his best friend half to death…

Tom grimaced, closing his eyes sadly and locking his arms tighter around Kaz. How could he be such an idiot? But – but he couldn't have communicated with Kaz even if he wanted to… Maxxor told him not to and even if he could – How could Kaz accept for what he was now…?

"What happened back there, Tom?"

Tom trembled. The memories from a month ago were not friendly to him.

"I have the right to know. You can at least give me that much."

Kaz softly trembled in Tom's arms.

The black-haired teen sighed and opened his guilt stricken eyes. "Okay. You deserve to hear everything." Tom pulled Kaz away and looked at him, smiling warmly but with caution. "But not here. Somewhere else…"

"Okay!" Kaz quickly cheered up, startling Tom a bit. "Let me call Peyton and Sarah then –"

"No!"

Kaz jumped at Tom's booming voice.

"I mean… only you can know… only you right now…" Tom grabbed Kaz's hand and pulled him. "Come on! Keep up with me!" Tom shouted with ethusiam as he ran out of the library and into the halls.

"I would if I were as buff as you!" Kaz complained, lagging behind a bit.

Tom laughed happily. It was nice to hear Kaz's sarcastic remarks. The teen pulled harder on his friend but stole a glance in the corner of his eye, catching the sight of two moving figures.

* * *

Kaz gaped. His mouth flew open as he took in the view around him.

Tom, standing proudly by his side, smirked with impression. He knew Kaz couldn't deny loving this.

The spiky-haired teen looked out into the outskirts of Kiru City from the very top of Maxxor's castle. Tom had managed to get them on the roof. The sun shined harmoniously with the buzzing city, the sound of creatures chirping and chatting leveled the day normally and the sky glowed a beautiful blue that was as nice as Tom's –

Kaz caught himself. What was he about to think?

The underworlder shook his head and turned to his friend. "Alright, explanation time."

Tom nodded. "I was about to get to that. Why don't you pull up a chair, this might take a while…"

Kaz looked around on the flat surface of the roof. "There are no chairs here."

"Oh too bad." Tom fake sighed disappointment. "Guess you'll have to sit on my lap!"

Kaz nearly choked on air. What had Tom just said? Before he could ask again, Tom picked his friend up bridal style and sat down on the edge of the rooftop. He patted Kaz down on his lap and smirked deviously.

"Tom!"

"Okay… where to begin…" Tom ignored Kaz's plea. "I suppose from the very beginning…"

Kaz swallowed the dryness in his throat and listened to Tom. He nodded agreeingly and let his friend tell his tale.

"The rock slide… avalanche… when it happened – when I pushed you out of the way, my scanner dropped out of my hand."

Kaz cursed himself aloud.

"It wasn't your fault!" Tom quickly shouted, regaining his composure. "I hope you didn't think it was for a month because Kaz… it was never your fault." Tom pulled his hand up to Kaz's back and rubbed in soft, small circles. "I would die for you, Kaz. You're like a brother to me…" Possibly even more…

Kaz remained silent but nodded, secretly trying to hold back tears. He let Tom continue.

"My scanner was crushed under rubble… there was no way out…" Tom swallowed the rock in his throat. his bright blue eyes trembled when he remembered the darkness that surrounded. The cold, unforgiving darkness that tried t take his life. "I was knocked out. I couldn't remember anything else after I woke up in Maxxor's castle." Kaz paid close attention.

"Najarin was the first face I saw. He and Maxxor both with a couple of… doctors… Najarin told me not to move and that the procedure had taken a strain on my body. I fell back asleep after that and didn't wake up until days later and when I did… and I looked at myself… the pain coursing through my body… the terror at what had happened…" Tom bit his lip. "I had become this."

Tom gestured to his body in slight repulse.

"What do you mean?" Kaz asked, already not liking the answer.

Tom furrowed his brow and sighed. "You know, I screamed when I saw myself. You would to if you saw me that day." He chuckled bitterly, remembering clear as crystal the day he saw himself covered in head to toe in bloody bandages, those purple markings circling him like snakes, and his monsterous features…. "A bunch of doctors tried to restrain me when I was yelling at them for what they had done. Maxxor and Najarin came in after them. Maxxor told me to calm down but I couldn't… I couldn't… you should've seen me, Kaz…"

"… Did you hit one of them in the shin…?"

"Totally. But I'm pretty sure I kicked someone's balls into their throat." Tom and Kaz both laughed. "Kaz, Maxxor find me in Gravity Prism half dead and under a shit load of rocks. He saved me from there but in order to save me from death, he had to go to extremes…"

Kaz gulped.

"It had never been done before, a blood transfusion between a Chaotic creature and a Chaotic player… neither had an organ transplant… not on a human anyways…"

"Wait… are you telling me that Maxxor gave you his blood?" Kaz shuttered, turning pale with fright. "And an organ?"

"Well, the blood, yes. But the organs, no. those came from creatures that had recently died. Either way, it changed me." Forever. Tom sighed. "The end result was my life given back to me but my humanity… it's gone… at least I think it is…"

"Think?"

"Yah. I mean, I don't know what I am exactly. Maybe I'm a full chaotic overworlder or maybe I'm half-human." Tom sighed with grief. He looked at his hands and clenched them into fist. "Either way, I'll never be human again."

"…" Kaz smiled and suddenly burst out in laughter. Tom arched an eyebrow, "What's so funny?"

"That your worried about not being human!" Tom flinched, his blood started to boil. "I thought you'd be worried about not ever being normal!"

Suddenly Kaz was roughly dropped on the roof with an angry Tom glaring ferociously down at him. For a second he stayed like that, just glaring at Kaz with naked anger that he had never known Tom to have, and Kaz, he stared into those smoldering blue eyes, completely confused on what was going to happen next.

Tom clenched his fist and slowly forced the anger out of his veins. He couldn't get mad at Kaz. He just didn't understand exactly what it meant not to be human… he didn't understand that he could never be with his family again… or friends… or have his regular life back again… the fear of never seeing him again...

Tom had to show Kaz exactly what it meant to have everything taken away.

The black-haired teen blinked and lowered his head, frowning. "… Hey, Kaz. Watch this." His best friend hesitantly nodded and watched as Tom raised his arm in the direction of a small, stone pillar in the corner of the roof.

Suddenly, Tom's arm glowed with a silver hue and the purple markings on his arm seared into his skin. "Scalding inferno!" Tom shouted as torrents of lava seeped out of his markings and shot out from the palm of his hand. The flaming lava incenarated the pillar in seconds and Tom stood completely still, his body trembling with shame.

"See, Kaz. That's not normal, that's not human…" Tom raised his head to meet the shocked eyes of his best friend. "I'm a monster."

"Monster is right." Kaz flinched. His eyes darted to the pile of crumbling stone and lava to find Krystella and Klay smirking snidely at them.

"You two are anything but ninjas." Tom muttered, trying to remain calm. "I could sense you a mile away."

"Who said we were trying?" Krystella sneered. "Besides, we've taken a liking to you."

"A liking?" Tom repeated.

Klay laughed. "You've actually became of ome use to us, MajorTom!" Tom arched and eyebrow and glanced casually at Kaz. They both shared the same confusion.

"Perhaps we'll scan you and use your body in the Battledrones!" Klay finally announced with Krystella laughing deviously behind him.

Tom flinched with sudden anger. "You wouldn't dare."

"I would." Klay said, getting out his scanner. "Maybe we'll even turn other people into freaks like you. Then we'll have an army of hybrid chaotic creatures!" Both chaotic players laughed in triumph and brought their scanners up, ready to scan Tom.

Kaz jumped in front of Tom and glared at the snobbish teens. "Leave him alone! Do you have any idea of what Tom's been through!"

"We do," Klay hissed. "But if you ask me, he was better off dead."

Tom and Kaz both cringed. Dead? How could they say that – something as horrible as that?

As Kaz opened his mouth, he heard a deafening growl come from behind him. "Tom?" Before Kaz could even turn around, his friend was sprinting pass him and tackling both Klay and Krystella to the ground. Kaz absentmindely took a step back and watched as his best friend growled angrily at the two Chaotic players.

Klay groaned and glared at Tom just as he felt a shiver run down his spine. His few minutes of confidence were up as he stared directly into the eyes of the former-Chaotic player hybrid.

With his irises turned a dark, dangerous shade of glowing blue and the whites of his eyes turned to midnight black, Tom curled his lips back and snarled animastically. Klay had never been so afraid in his life.

"Krystella! Port out!" He screamed just as he realized that they both shared the same horrified expressions. Krystella caught on quickly to Klay's yells but before they could even get their scanners out, shadowed, oozing appendages restrained their wrists and legs.

Tom growled and lifted himself up, hunching his back a little as crimson liquids slid smoothly down his back from where the extra tentacle-like appendages had painfully burst out from under his skin.

The hybrid ignored the pain aching – stabbing – at his body and focused his naked hatred on his archenemies. How dare they. These people… these _humans_… they had no idea how it felt to be a monster. They didnt no not understand the sacrifice he had unwillingly given up. They. Did. Not. Understand.

_Nor could they ever…_

Being something in between… being out of place… _being a – a… **freak**._

And not having anyone by your side...

Tom… would not let this happen to other people!

Tom willed his appendages to lift Klay and Krystella off the ground and into the air. The teen hissed in pain as he felt more shadow limbs force their way out of his back. Lowering his head so that his shaggy black hair covered his features, Tom felt the limbs cling tensely around Klay and Krystella's necks.

"Tom! Wait!"

"Don't do this! Not to me! take Klay instead!"

Klay gasped, struggling against his restraints. "You bitch!"

"Take him! It was all his idea Tom!"

"Shut up! you wanted –"

Tom snapped. He raised his head and narrowed his eyes, unleashing a roar as deadly as the oldest of ancient dragons. The roar thundered all throughout Perim, shaking the Earth and making all three humans shiver terribly. A roar that rivaled the gods in aunguish and in beautiful anger shook the Heavens and alarmed a willingly helpful partcipant from afar.

Kaz gulped involuntarily at the sound that came out from Tom. It was loud. It was magnificient. It was inhuman. Kaz lifted himself off the ground and stared at his friend. This wasn't him. This wasn't Tom.

The hybrid snapped his mouth shut and grinned sadistaclly at the teenagers hanging helplessly above him.

"You can't… you wouldn't do this! MajorTom!"

He could.

"You're the hero! You can't kill us!"

Why not? He had the right. The reason. The _power_… to do so.

Kaz had to stop him.

Without a plan, the spiky haired teen ran to his friend and before Tom could even command his limbs to silence Klay and Krystella's lives, Kaz had jumped in front of Tom, wrapped his arms around his body, and pressed his lips against Tom's.

The hybrid felt Kaz's soft lips on his own, suddenly feeling the anger and conflicted emotions swirling in his gut disappear with slow ease. The blackness and darkness in Tom's eyes drained away, leaving behind his own heavenly, serene skyblue irises. Tom fliched but leaned into the kiss, wrapping his arms around Kaz's smaller body. Allowing warmth and soft colors to take over his senses.

The black limbs vanished in the wake of the sun, dropping the two Chaotic players painfully on the ground. Kaz and Tom ignored this.

Tom shuddered and begrudgingly pulled himself away from Kaz. He inhaled strongly and stared down at his best friend, a tourniquet of shame pierced his stomach.

"Kaz, I shouldn't have done that."

Kaz shrugged. "They deserved a good scare."

"No, not that."

"Then what?"

"I shouldn't have kissed you back," Tom shuddered. "Not me... Not with how I am now..."

Kaz frowned and embraced his best friend. "You're still you, Tom."

"Kaz, I'm not myself. I'm no longer like you. I'm a mon-"

"I don't see any monsters here besides those two."

"Kaz... You're not understanding. I'm not human which means I can't... I can no longer..." Tom bit his bottom lip and grimaced. "I shouldn't have kissed you. I shouldn't have. I really really shouldn't have. I can't go... I can't-"

"He cannot go back to the human world."

Kaz flinched at the new voice. He sharply turned around and his eyes widened as he stared at the ruler who saved Tom's life.

Before Kaz caught himself, he asked Maxxor, "What do you mean he can't go back?"

The Lord of the Overworld frowned and looked at the human with steel eyes, "Even if Tom's scanner was replaced, his code would no longer be validated as a... member of your games."

"See Kaz," Tom fumed through glazed eyes, "I can't go back to our - your world. I belong to Perim now... I can't get out no matter how much I want to..." Tom violently wrenched his hair with his hands and groaned in anger.

"Tom..." Maxxor began slowly. "You belong to no one." He ended firmly.

Tom looked up at Maxxor, his blue eyes glazed over and blurred. Maxxor placed a hand on Tom's shoulder and felt the trembles shaking through his body.

Tom looked up at Maxxor, his eyes void of color. "I can't go back. Can't see my family again, Kaz, Peyton, Sarah... not anymore..."

Kaz was already at Tom's side. His hand slipped into Tom's.

"Kaz," Tom began but never finished. With his throat congested with sniffles, Tom shuddered and finally cried. He threw himself into Kaz's chest and shouted in anguish, his tears and mucus soaked his lover's shirt.

And they stayed in each other's embrace for the rest of the evening.

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**Review please :) for the feels and luvs...**

**Thank you for reading!**


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